Living With Diversity

Wake up and smell the roses, and how many different colors for the same smell. The decorative arts too have so many designs and forms that all showcase human development. I can’t image being overly specialized or minimalized with what I might be living with in my home or office. Perhaps those two environments might compete with a car or other form of transportation, but the home can and should be a place to exhibit an open and creative mind.

When you go to museums like the Metropolitan, Louvre, or the V&A, you are exposed to so many diverse forms of human creativity. Just recognizing a phenomenon in nature is part of human understanding about the world we live in. While there are as many diverse human cultures as species of flowers, I can appreciate or at least be exposed to anything that surrounds me. However, in a home I can share and live with what fascinates me. And just like a museum, I can be the curator, collector, and decorator. I might also need some help!

I forgot to add one major problem with my or anyone’s aspiration for a perfect and ever evolving home environment, yes it is money. I suppose there is a lot of truth that money can’t buy taste, but there is no doubt that it can go a long way to satisfy that urge. Nevertheless, adding that part of the equation into factoring how one wants to live can be a defining parameter. A good eye or a thirst for knowledge can be priceless commodities that trump money. It should be all about the personal pleasure of learning, understanding, and being able to pass on knowledge if you do it at all.

My whole business career has been based on learning, understanding, and being able to pass on knowledge. I grew up seeing this as the best way to enjoy and participate in the industry. What is more exciting is the exposure to so much diversity of what was created for the human condition. From Greek pottery to Lalique glass, furniture made for King Tut’s tomb to a hotel designed by Gio Ponti in the 1950s, the evolution and footprint of human creativity is in our DNA.

I hope human passion does not atrophy with the diversions of technology or the impulse to keep things simple and minimal. Our minds should be programmed to search for creative diversions and the home should be where it starts. I have been hearing a subtle call by interior designers and even in antiques shows to be more inclusive and open to multiple periods and styles of design offerings. I hope this whisper turns into a roar. Acquiring knowledge and a more refined sense of taste allows for diversity of objects in the furnishing of a home, which can open more horizons of personal possibilities.